186 PAINTING ANIMALS AND ONE DRINK TOO MANY

As you can see by my art I am clearly an animal lover and have shared my life with many gorgeous creatures over the years. I always love painting them too. This acrylic on board artwork is from the vet’s waiting room and of course I had so much fun painting it too. This story today is from the Undercover Vet who had an amusing story to tell about a patient of his and a rather intoxicated owner.

Vets waiting room painting

THE ART OF DRINKING

A middle age woman came into the vet with a large dog who was scratching and licking himself constantly.

The vet examined the dog while the nurse held him on the table. On his fur, there was an army of fleas all over. His body was crawling with the little buggers!
It was all explained to the owner (more than a little surprised she hadn’t noticed the fleas herself). The recommendation was to initiate some flea treatment and also treat the house for flea eggs.

What about the snake

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION
This woman was clearly drunk, the alcohol on her breath was so strong, that her just breathing on the dog would probably have been enough to kill the fleas (or at least make them intoxicated enough to fall off sideways!). Her response to the advice was that we had no idea what we were talking about and that all her dog needed were steroids to stop the scratching. She denied that there were any fleas at all on her dog!

We then tried to point out all the fleas, the little parasites crawling around her dog’s body. The fleas were absolutely all over the dog, with a population density like Singapore, with bodies everywhere. The owner said that we were lying and there was nothing there. Understandably, the vet was getting annoyed by this woman’s stubborn and drunken behavior.

It was pointed out to the lady that both the vet and the nurse could clearly see the fleas and that if she didn’t have her beer goggles on and could actually see with any clarity at all, she would also be able to see them! She was told that she clearly didn’t value the vets professional opinion and promptly sent her and the poor dog on their way (probably back to the pub!).

Painting animals is fun

THE ART OF APOLOGIZING

The following day, the lady returned to the clinic and sheepishly apologized for her behavior the previous day. She agreed that the diagnosis was correct and took both the flea control and medicine recommended.

So here is a quote from George Eliot that I think fits well here; “Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”